THE Public Relations Officer of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP) in the South West, Comrade Olusegun Abatan, has rejected the move of the Federal Government to spend the N20 trillion belonging to contributory pensioners in the country to fund infrastructural development.
He called on members of the NUP – who are under the old defined benefit (DB) scheme – to support pensioners under the contributory pension scheme and to rise up against the “unconscionable” bid of the government to dip its hands into the pensioners’ money.
Abatan, who is also the secretary of the NUP in Oyo State, spoke on Friday in an interview with Saturday Tribune, where he accused President Bola Tinubu of “having no love for pensioners since his days as the governor of Lagos State.”
He also labelled former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, as a hater of unions, alleging that the ex-military ruler established the contributory pension scheme and ensured that those under the scheme belonged to no trade union and had no voice of their own.
Fuming at the government’s proposal, the NUP South West spokesman said: “I am not surprised at the bid of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to want to tap the fund of the pensioners. He was never pensioners-friendly when he was governor of Lagos State.
“Aside from that, the contributory pension scheme, as established by Olusegun Obasanjo, was never done in altruism. It was not altruistic; it was a way of getting members of the clique to have access to pensioners’ fund.
“And in the carving out of that contributory pension scheme, many things were wrong. President Obasanjo hates trade unionism to high heavens. To that extent, contributory pensioners don’t have a union. You may say they belong to the Nigeria Union of Pensioners but they are not part of us. But we cannot throw them away.
“In the carving of the scheme, one percent union due was absent so that these people would not have a voice of their own. And that is the reason why the government is doing whatever they are doing with the contributory pensioners now.
“The problem the contributory pensioners are facing in Nigeria now is even worse than what those of us in the defined benefit pension scheme are facing. So, wanting to tap into the fund is a way to finally wreck the aspirations, the future of those that are retiring under the contributory pension scheme.
“I want to take this opportunity to inform those pensioners under the contributory pension scheme to rise up against it (Federal Government’s bid to use the fund for infrastructural development). Rising up can be, for one, taking the government to court and then going on the street.
“It is unconscionable for any government to want to touch that money. If a government is paying N90 billion as subsidy for hajj, what is the economic value of that subsidy to Nigeria when many of our children are out of school, when we cannot walk on the street without looking over our shoulders? There is no security; farmers cannot go to the farm. Food production is at the lowest ebb. We cannot even get light. Inflation is on the increase on a daily basis. That N90 billion would solve some problems rather than to take it to Saudi Arabia.
“So, as far as the Nigeria Union of Pensioners, South West and Oyo State, is concerned, we reject it. We oppose it and we want our members to step out and vehemently rise up against it.”
Asked if the pensioners under the contributory pension scheme should give the Federal Government the benefit of the doubt on its sincerity and purpose for the fund, Comrade Abatan said: “Why should they want to do that? There is money all over the place. There is money in this country, why should they want to do that?
“If a former Accountant-General of the Federation stole N109 billion, if a former governor of the central bank used N18 billion to print six hundred and forty-something million naira, are you telling me there is no money? The only thing is that they want to ‘kill’ the hapless pensioners so that their lives will be more miserable than it is.
“As I am speaking to you, there are so many things that are supposed to have been done for these contributory pensioners that have not been done. One, 33 percent pension increase that was done for those under DB, that is, defined benefit scheme, in 2010 has not been done for the contributory pensioners.
“The consequential adjustment that was done for pensioners in 2019 has not been done for these contributory pensioners. Another round of pension increase is on the way and the government is not thinking about them. It is their money they want. So, what type of benefit of the doubt should they give them (the government)?
“You give benefit of the doubt to somebody who loves you. Somebody that does not even love you ab initio, how do you give him the benefit of the doubt, except you are saying that he should go ahead and kill you or incapacitate you?
“No, we won’t allow that. And we may go to court. That is the truth of the matter. No benefit of the doubt. Not for this government. This government is hateful of pensioners. This government is hateful of Nigerian citizens.
“Look at what is happening to everybody. Look at what is happening to us all. Prices of food have skyrocketed. Medicaments, particularly for us, pensioners, as senior citizens, are out of reach; a drug that you used to buy for N500 is about N10,000. So, what benefit of the doubt do you want to give this type of government? We have never seen this type of thing in our lives.”
“In actual fact, civilised countries use pensioners’ money for infrastructural development and they see it and they benefit from it. That is why when you go abroad, pensioners, or senior citizens, are given respect. The bus fare for senior citizens is subsidised. Medicaments for senior citizens are subsidised. Transportation is subsidised. What benefit is the ordinary Nigerian getting from this government?” he said.
Speaking on how Nigerians are facing pension fund usage proposal just after opposing the Federal Government on the bid to impose cyber-security levy on them, the South West pensioners’ spokesman said: “I think the problem that this government has is that there is not a blueprint that was prepared before Tinubu took- over government. There was never a blueprint to show the direction this government wants to go.
“If there was a blueprint, they will not be dabbling in one thing after another. This government does something and then thinks over it after, the whole thing has boomeranged. That is not the way to govern. I think the man has to go back to the drawing board. If he doesn’t have good managers in his cabinet, he should bring better ones on board and let Nigeria move forward, we are not moving forward, we are moving backward, and I hope we don’t crash one day,” the pensioners’ spokesman said.
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